Perhaps the NL East is not the friendliest neighborhood for the Washington Nationals.
For all of their success this year, the Nats are 11-30 against division opponents. They were swept by Miami this past weekend after dropping all three games to the New York Mets the previous weekend.
The skid has seen Washington lose nine of its last 11 games and drift dangerously close to the division cellar. The Nationals lead the suddenly surging Mets by just a game and a half.
While the Nats may have slumped in the second half of the season, two players have surged: Andres Chaparro is hitting .304 with seven homers and 25 RBIs in 27 games since the midsummer classic. For those doing the math, that’s a 42-homer, 150-RBI pace over 162 games. Meanwhile, Cade Cavalli is 6-1 with a 1.84 ERA over the same stretch.
Unfortunately, bats lost through trades and injuries have short-circuited what had been the best offense in the majors for much of the season. The latest blow came when CJ Abrams tweaked an ankle and landed on the injured list this past weekend.
There is some good news: The Nationals host Colorado of the NL West this week before resuming divisional play Friday night.
Digesting the Division: Atlanta (76-55) dropped two of three to Milwaukee in a potential playoff preview but still leads Philadelphia (73-58), despite the Phillies’ nine-game winning streak.
We talk a lot about a lineup featuring Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper, but the Phillies have remained in contention thanks in large part to a pitching staff that ranks third in MLB in quality starts.
Miami (67-64) is riding high again after sweeping Washington, just days after getting swept by Philadelphia.
Washington (61-71) is 10 games under .500 for the first time this season, while the New York Mets (59-72) have caught fire with 12 wins in their last 18 games. In the absence of Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor has stepped up with seven homers and 20 RBIs since the All-Star break.
O’s Woes: You can call them the Rays, but lately you can also say the Orioles have Tampa Bay’s number. The Birds took five of seven from the AL East leaders, missing out on a pair of potential sweeps by dropping the series finales. Unfortunately, they also were swept by the New York Yankees and now sit two games out of the American League’s final playoff spot.
Just as importantly, Baltimore is now finished with Tampa Bay this season and begins a nine-game road trip.
Diamond King: Cade Cavalli struck out 11 over six scoreless innings in the Nationals’ lone win last week and has been the only Washington pitcher credited with a victory since Aug. 9 (Will Dion is the trivia answer). Even while pitching for a diminished team, Cavalli owns a 1.73 ERA in August. Every one of his starts from here on out is must-see.
Last Week’s Heroes: Will Dion tossed four scoreless innings, while Andrew Alvarez was a hard-luck loser after allowing just one run over five innings. Andres Chaparro hit .337 with a homer and three RBIs while scoring three runs. Keibert Ruiz batted .385 with a homer and two RBIs. Those were the only two Nationals to drive in more than one run all week.
Last Week’s Humbled: It’s tough to produce RBIs when one-third of your lineup is hitting below .100. Nasim Nunez batted .095, Jacob Young hit .071 and Jorbit Vivas batted .045. Jake Irvin allowed four runs over six innings in his start, while rookie Jackson Kent surrendered eight runs over 8.1 innings across two starts. Tom Cosgrove gave up three runs in 1.1 innings.
Game to Watch: Cade Cavalli is scheduled to start twice this week, and I’m picking Saturday’s matchup against Miami. He’ll face Jackson Junk, who despite the awesome name, owns a middling 4.37 ERA. It’s also the last Saturday before college football begins in earnest. Yes, Virginia plays in Week Zero, but still.
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